Arts & Entertainment
Rapper Offset apologizes for homophobic lyric
the performer says the word ‘queer’ was not meant to be about gay people


(Offset. Photo via Instagram.)
Offset, one part of the rap trio Migos, has apologized for a lyric that people thought came across as homophobic insisting that he didn’t write the lyric with gay people in mind.
The 26-year-old rapper is featured on the song “Boss Life” by YFN Lucci. The music video was released this week.
āPinky ring crystal clear, 40k spent on a private Lear/60k solitaire/I cannot vibe with queers,” Offset raps on the track.
Some people were offended by the lyric including gay British rapper MNEK who called out Offset for his love of wearing gay fashion designers.
āOffset saying he doesnāt vibe with queers while constantly wearing and PARADING clothes by gay designers is the REAL gag,” MNEK tweeted.
Offset saying he doesnāt vibe with queers while constantly wearing and PARADING clothes by gay designers is the REAL gag.
ā MNEK (@MNEK) January 18, 2018
heās clowning himself???? was gianni versace not gay ? this one youāre screaming versace versace versace, are you not vibing ? lololol
ā MNEK (@MNEK) January 18, 2018
all iām saying is if youāre a homophobe say it with your chest.
so Offset, no more Versace, Tom Ford. YSL? donāt know what that is. Marc Jacobs? whoās that? your new attire shall be Sports Directsā finest – seeing as you donāt vibe with the designers above!
ā MNEK (@MNEK) January 18, 2018
Offset has now issued an apology on Instagram posting a screenshot of the definition of “queer.” He says the way he used the word was not meant to be an insult to gay people.
“I have said before since these issues before that I got love for all people. My passion for fashion has lead me to a lot of gay people around me who I have mad respect for and we are very cool so Iām not in a place where Iām hating like that. When I wrote that I was thinking of words that could rhyme with the others (here, lear, solitaire, bear) and I saw this definition about her having a queer feeling she was being watched and it fit what I was thinking about a stalker creepy paparazzi situation. To me that āqueerā I donāt mean someone whoās gay. I mean lame people who film you, post it and stalk you. Lingo that means strange or odd. I M S O R R Y. I A P O L O G I Z E. Iām offended I offended anybody, ” Offset wrote in the post.
This isn’t the first time Offset has been accused of homophobia. In 2017, Migos was asked in an interview with Rolling Stone how they felt about fellow rapperĀ iLoveMakonnen coming out as gay. The interviewer explained that iLoveMakonnen’s fans were supportive.
āThatās because the world is fu*ked up,ā Offset said of the support.
Movies
A cat and its comrades ride to adventure in breathtaking ‘Flow’
Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis directs animated fantasy adventure

Sometimes, life changes overnight, and thereās nothing to do but be swept away by it, trying to navigate its currents with nothing to help you but sheer instinct and the will to survive.
Sound familiar? It should; most lives are at some point met with the challenge of facing a new personal reality when the old one unexpectedly ceases to exist. Losing a job, a home, a relationship: any of these experiences require us to adapt, often on the fly; well-laid plans fall by the wayside and the only thing that matters is surviving to meet a new challenge tomorrow.
When such catastrophes are communal, national, or even global, the stability of existence can be erased so completely that adaptation feels nearly impossible; the āhitsā just keep on coming, and weāre left reeling in a constant state of panicked uncertainty. That might sound familiar, too.
If so, you likely realize that thereās little comfort to be found in most of the entertainments we seek for distraction, outside of the temporary respite provided by thinking about something else for a while ā but there are some entertainments that can work on us in a deeper way, too, and perhaps provide us with something that feels like hope, even when we know there is no chance of returning to the world we once knew.
āFlowā is just such an entertainment.
Directed by Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis from a screenplay co-written with MatÄ«ss Kaža, this independently-produced, five-and-a-half-year-in-the-making animated fantasy adventure has become one of the most acclaimed films of 2024; debuting at Cannes in the non-competitive “Un Certain Regard” section, it won raves from international reviewers and went on to claim yearly ābest ofā honors from numerous criticsā organizations and film award bodies, including the Golden Globes and the National Board of Review. Now nominated not only for the Academyās Best Animated Feature award but as Best International Feature (only the third animated movie to accomplish that feat) as well, it stands as the odds-on favorite to take home at least one of those Oscars, and possibly even both ā and once seen, itās hard to dissent from that assessment.
Set in an unspecified time and an unknown, richly forested place, it centers its narrative ā which begins with breathtaking quickness, almost from the opening frames of the film ā on a small-ish charcoal grey cat, who wakes from its slumber to find its home rapidly disappearing under a rising tide of water. Trying to stay ahead of the flood, it finds a lifeline when it discovers an abandoned sailboat, adrift on the waves, and seeks safety on board; but the cat is not the only refugee here, and with an unlikely group of other animals ā a dog, a capybara, a lemur, and a secretary bird ā sharing the ride, the plucky feline must forge alliances with (and between) each of its shipmates if any of them are to avoid a seemingly apocalyptic fate. Faced with setbacks and challenges at every turn, the crew of unlikely comrades learns to cooperate out of shared necessity ā but will it be enough to keep the uncontrollable waters that surround them from becoming their final oblivion?
With no human presence in the movie ā though the implication that it once existed, accompanied by the inevitable suspicion that climate change is behind the mysterious flood, is ominously delivered through the monumental ruined structures and broken relics it has seemingly left behind ā the story unfolds without a word of dialogue, a narrative chain of events that keeps us ever-focused on the ānow.ā The non-verbal vocalizations of its characters (each provided by authentic animal sounds rather than human impersonation) help to convey their relationships with clarity, but itās the visual evocation of their sensory experiences ā of being trapped and at the mercy of the elements, of making an unexpected connection with another being, of enjoying a simple pleasure like a soft place to sleep ā that fuels this remarkable exploration of physical existence at its most raw and vulnerable. We have no way of knowing what has happened, no way of imagining what is yet to come, but such questions fade quickly into irrelevance as the story carries our attention from the immediacy of one moment into the next.
Accentuating this in-the-moment flow of āFlowāā for if ever a film title could be said to summarize its style, it is surely this one ā is its eye-absorbing visual beauty, rendered via the open-sourced software Blender to provide an aesthetic which matches the material. These realistically-drawn animals come vividly to life against a backdrop that captures a deep connection to nature, accented with the surreal intrusions of human influence and a certain appreciation for the colorful beauty of the world around us, even at its most untamed, which hints at an indefinable mysticism; and when the story begins to transcend the expected borders of its meticulously-crafted realism, the animation takes us there so easily that we scarcely notice it has happened.
Yet transcend it does, and in so doing becomes something greater than a humble adventure tale. As the animal companions progress in their journey toward hoped-for safety, the remnants of human existence become more weathered, more ancient, and less recognizable; the natural landscape through which they are carried begins to be transformed, rendered in a more mythic light by the clash of elemental forces swirling around them and the strange encounters with other creatures that occur along their way. Whatever world this may have been, it seems rapidly to be dissolving into a cosmos where the forms of the past are being reconfigured into something new ā and the band of travelers, both witness to and participants in this process, cannot help but be reconfigured, too.
We canāt explain that further without spoilers, but we can tell you that it includes the catās ability to ignore its solitary instincts and natural mistrust of its comrades in order to form a diverse (yes, we said it) and cooperative team. It also involves learning to let go of things that can no longer help, to be open to new possibilities that might, and perhaps most importantly, to surrender without fear to the āflowā and trust that it will eventually take you where you need to go, as long as you can manage to stay afloat until you get there.
Zilbalodisās film is an immersive ride, full of visceral and frequently harrowing moments that may produce some anxiety (especially for those who hate seeing animals in peril) and conceptual shifts that may challenge your expectations ā but it is a ride well worth taking. More than merely a fantastical āNoahās Arkā fable reimagined for an environmentally conscious age, it just might offer the timely catharsis many of us need to confront our unknowable future with a renewed sense of possibility.
āFlowā begins streaming on Max on Feb. 14.

SADBrunch will host āDrag Brunchā on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 12 p.m. at Throw Social.
Grab your friends & family, your mimosa, a plate full of food, and join us for Drag Brunch. Five flocking fabulous queens take to the stage to perform in this sassy, extravagant, fantabulous event. Tickets start at $25 and are available on Eventbrite.Ā
Out & About
Being single doesnāt mean you have to be alone this Valentineās Day!
Casa De LGBT hosts speed dating event

Casa De LGBT will host āGay, DL, Transgender Speed Datingā on Friday, Feb. 14 at 8:00p.m. at 1406 N. Capitol St. NW.
This will be a night of speed dating, deep connections, and good vibes! Whether you’re gay, lesbian, transgender, or queer, this event is designed to bring people together in a safe, respectful, and welcoming environment Come ready to connect, have fun, and maybe even meet someone special. Tickets cost $30 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
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